Sogni D'oro
by color thyme
Summary: shaunxdesmond. limited cussing. Fluffy! Set in Brotherhood. Desmond's hallucinations are taking a turn for the worse, and he is haunted with dreams of being trapped back at Abstergo. Luckily, Shaun is there to comfort him .
1. Day One

**Hello! This is my first time uploading a story. ^_^**

**yaoi warning, Desmond x Shaun** - fluff fluff fluff(:

**Set in Brotherhood, a couple of days after they arrive at the Sanctuary. **

**I'm assuming they stay there for a little more than a week before the game ends, so I'll be posting this in order of the days, so it may amount to 8 or 9 chapters in all?**

**This is Day One.  
**

The city of Rome faded to white as Desmond Miles exited the animus. He sat up and rubbed the back of his neck, lying down for so long had knotted his back. The assassin took a moment to let his eyes adjust and then looked for the familiar sight of Rebecca smiling down at him from her computer, but as his vision sharpened he realized it wasn't Rebecca at the controls, but Shaun.

"Could it take you any longer to move? Why don't you hurry up so we can leave?" Desmond didn't bother answering Shaun's typical sarcastic statement. "Where're the girls?" Desmond slid his legs off the seat of the Animus and twisted to pop his back. Shaun crossed his arms and looked at him impatiently. "If this had been a panic situation, your sluggishness would have gotten us both killed. Lucy and Rebecca have already left to buy supplies. I'm sure you've noticed, what with your raiding the icebox every time you have a chance, but we're almost out of food. We've had to start buying double what we used to, with you and you endless gut." Desmond could tell Shaun he was waiting for another reply he could sneer at. The younger man decided to ignore the condescending comments and rose from his seat. "Did you tell them to get beer?"

Shaun scowled.

* * *

Desmond savored the warmth of the sun on his face as the two assassins walked side by side down a cobbled street.

"I've figured out that we're going to eat, but you haven't told me where yet."

"There's a friend of Lucy's who runs a diner roughly a kilometer from here."

"Aren't you afraid we're going to run into any Templars?"

"If you can keep from being an idiot and pressing your face against an open window, we should be just fine."

Shaun ended the conversation by suddenly increasing his pace and walking several yards in front of Desmond. The younger man had to jog to keep up with him.

* * *

"Isn't it convenient that Lucy knows someone so close to our base?"

"Can't you keep your mouth shut for five minutes?" Shaun was obviously annoyed; Desmond had interrupted him while he was in deep thought.

"Hey, it's a fair question."

"No, it's a stupid one. Why do you think Lucy chose this place? She probably has a lot of contacts near here."

"Oh, yeah, of course."

"Idiot."

* * *

"Hey, Shaun –"

"WHAT, Desmond? What could you POSSIBLY wish to know? What my middle name is? Why the sky is blue? Ten ways to commit suicide?"

The two men glared at each other.

"Why are you taking me to this diner instead of, you know, Lucy? Or Rebecca, of course."

"That's exactly what I asked her, Desmond. That's exactly what I'm asking myself right now."

"So she asked you to?"

"Oh, brilliant deducing skills on your part! No, I asked to, because we're so chummy."

"You could have just given me directions and left earlier."

"Well it's not that simple, is it? Lucy's afraid you'll have another bad hallucination and wander into the street."

"Oh, right, the hallucinations…"

"Your answer tells me you haven't had one yet. Good, keep it that way. I don't want to babysit you more than I have to."

"So you'll be paying for my food?"

"Go away."

* * *

"Desmond. Desmond!"

Desmond shook his head to clear his thoughts. A blue-tinted horse ran through Shaun. _Crap, that's not supposed to be there. _But he couldn't help smiling at the thought of a horse running the other man over.

"What are you smiling at? Pull yourself together, we're here."

"Here?"

"The diner, obviously. Good Lord, can't you remember anything?"

"The diner, the one with Lucy's friend. I remember."

"Wonderful. And you remember the password to get in?"

"Password?"

"I'm only kidding, Desmond, don't look so confused. Get a sense of humor!"

"Well, I-" But Desmond was at a loss for words. Shaun smirked and pushed open the door to the diner. A bell rang and a plump, cheerful looking middle aged woman looked up from the booth she was sitting in. "Welcome! Oh, you, young man, didn't you come here with Lucy before? Yes, I remember you! Shaun, wasn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am. " Shaun replied politely. Desmond gave him a sidelong look. The other man's expression had seamlessly changed from an arrogant grin to a well behaved smile. "And I'm, er, Desmond, another friend of Lucy's." Desmond introduced himself, tearing his eyes from Shaun.

"Splendid to meet you, dear! I'm Molly, come, sit here and order anything you'd like!" The rosy woman bounced into the kitchen to leave the two assassins to their menus.

It was a homely diner, not very big, with retro red booths and a checkered floor. Desmond couldn't remember if he'd seen the name, and it wasn't printed anywhere on the front of the menu. Heopened his menu and skimmed through the choices. Something caught the corner of his eye, something with a blueish tint.

_Not again…_

The diner was crowded with people. Women in long, tight dresses, and beggars playing music for money chatted with one another silently. A group of prostitutes gestured provocatively at men passing by them. Desmond's eyes clouded over as they usually did during more severe hallucinations.

Shaun glanced over the top of his menu, poised with a remark about how unusually quiet Desmond was. Instead he saw that the other man looked completely unaware of his surroundings, and seemed to be following things with his eyes that weren't there. He leaned over the table and gave Desmond a hard slap on the cheek.

Desmond blinked several times and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. The illusion disappeared and he was back in the diner again.

Desmond opened his mouth to complain about the slap, but the other man cut him off. "How long was that one?" Shaun didn't seem particularly interested in the answer, but he was still studying Desmond for further effects. "Not too long, twenty seconds or so." Desmond lied. Shaun didn't look entirely convinced, but nodded and looked back to his menu.

_The hallucinations are getting worse…_

The two men ordered and ate in silence. Desmond studied his reflection in the window, searching for any physical signs that the bleeding effect might have caused. Shaun made a face at him. The two exchanged ridiculous expressions for a moment and then continued eating.

The two assassins rose simultaneously from their seats after a waitress had cleared the table and the bill had been paid. "Bye, dears! Come back soon!" Molly called from behind the register. Desmond smiled and waved at her as he pushed the door open and the bell rang to mark their exit.

* * *

Shaun wanted a quiet, short walk back to base. He kept the pace at a swift walk and took a different route back than he had when they'd come here.

"Hey, this is a different way than before."

Shaun mentally cringed, but Desmond's persistent talking could not be avoided. "That's right." He looked over his shoulder to Desmond when he didn't receive a reply. Desmond's eyes were hazed over, and he walked at a bit of an angle, as if following a different street. Shaun stopped walking and put a hand on the other man's shoulder to stop him and snapped twice in front of his face. Desmond returned to reality and put a hand to his temple. "Thanks." Shaun's eyebrows raised and he nodded in reply.

* * *

When they returned to the base, Desmond was ushered back into the animus by Lucy and Rebecca, who had returned earlier, and Shaun returned to his own computer.

* * *

"Hey, bud, you feelin' alright? You haven't been doin' much for about an hour." Rebecca's voice came through the animus and Desmond realized Ezio was kind of just standing there near a bench. "Oh, uh, yeah, sorry, I've got a lot on my mind…" Shaun's laugh floated to him. "Can't stay out of the past when he needs to, and can't focus on it when he has to." No one could see, but Desmond made a face between a smile and an annoyed look under the screen of the animus.

* * *

The screen on the animus retracted, and Desmond's eyes adjusted to the dim light of the base. Lucy leaned over the animus and smiled at him. "Sorry, we had dinner without you…" Desmond smiled. "Nah, it's fine, I'll just get a yogurt or something." Lucy beamed. "Night, Desmond."

"Night, Lucy."

The female assassin left the room to stand guard. On her way out she unplugged the large lights, and the room went dark. A lamp in the corner was the only source of light now. It cast gloomy shadows on the assassin statues that lined the walls. Desmond put his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. A clicking noise caught his attention and he propped himself up on his elbows. Shaun was at his desk, typing. "Huh?" Desmond mumbled.

"Hello to you too, Desmond."

"What're… what're you doing up?"

Shaun didn't feel it was right to tell Desmond that Lucy had decided it would be best to keep him under constant surveillance, to keep track of how many hallucinations he had and their lengths. Determine the state of his "problem".

"I've still got work to do."

"The bulb in your lamp burned out a couple nights ago, didn't it? Need me to go get you a new one?"

"No, thank you."

The relationship between the two was very complicated. They could be passing insults back and forth, or offering each other help, or having a friendly chat. Shaun seemed to be in a good mood tonight, and Desmond wasn't quite tired yet, so he took a chance at pulling up a chair behind Shaun's and tried to make sense of what he was doing. The other assassin typed extremely fast, and always seem to be switching between sending an email and going through lines of encrypted text. After a while Desmond was hunched over with his elbows on his knees and his head resting on his hands.

"What is all of that?" He asked, referring to the lines of code speeding down Shaun's monitor.

"Ezio's memories, not many of them are glitched, but these are the ones that are."

"Not many? That list is endless."

Shaun chuckled. "It's on a loop, and these are memories we're talking about, each of them is quite long. I'm looking for the irregularities that are stopping them from working correctly."

"So I'm going to have to do all of that?"

"Yep."

"Any hints about the future? Er, the future of the past?"

"It doesn't work like that."

Another ten minutes of silence passed, Desmond slipped closer to sleep.

"How are you doing that so fast? Isn't it hard to find 'irregularities' if the text is going too fast to read?"

"I've got a program helping me, but if I do find one I press a button and the computer with double check the last minute of code."

"Mmhmm…"

Both men sounded groggy. Desmond had almost fallen off his chair and Shaun's eyes were red. His fingers had slowed down considerably as he typed, until he was barely moving them.

"Desmond."

"Mmm?"

"You should sleep."

Desmond nodded and yawed. He rose slowly from the chair and placed it back at Lucy's desk.

"Night, Shaun."

"Night, Desmond."

* * *

Desmond found himself atop the Abstergo building. The sky was a colorless grey, and nothing moved across the landscape. The entire area was comfortably lit by an unknown source. There was no sun in the sky, and the buildings several hundred feet below him looked washed out and oddly shaped. There was a wall behind Desmond, and a door leading onto the upper floor of the building. He tried the handle, but his hands slipped over the smooth surface of the nob and he couldn't get a grip. Desmond turned back and stepped closer to the edge of the building. There was a heavy fog in the air when he peered over the edge, hiding the town below. The assassin stepped off the edge of the building and fell straight to the ground.

Desmond woke up by throwing himself out of his sleeping bag. He hit his head on a metal box and cried out in pain. Desmond drew his knees to his chest and clenched his hands on his throbbing head. "Desmond!" Lucy crawled out of her sleeping bag and rushed toward him. "Are you alright? What happened?" Desmond groaned and pushed himself to a sitting position, one hand still holding his head. "Bad dream." Lucy sympathetically wrapped her arms around his neck. Desmond blushed and used his free hand to return the hug. "We should get some ice for your head."

"Don't worry, it's nothing."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, if my head swells I'll look tougher."

Lucy laughed. "Okay, tough guy. Try to get another hour of sleep, alright?" She stepped away from Desmond and smiled.

"Yeah, alright."

Shaun watched from across the room. He felt oddly envious of Lucy.

Desmond tried to sleep, but was plagued by visions of the Abstergo building. He spent the next hour staring at the ceiling and checking his watch.

**End of Day One! Review please! I'd love to know what you think. Please point out any typo's or bad grammar you may find. :D **


	2. Day Two

**Welcome to the second chapter of Sogni d'oro! :D Which is "Sweet Dreams" in Italian.  
**

**yaoi warning, Desmond x Shaun** - fluff fluff fluff(:

**Set in Brotherhood, started a couple of days after they arrive at the Sanctuary. **

**I'm assuming they stay there for a little more than a week before the game ends, and I'll be posting this in order of the days, so it may amount to 8 or 9 chapters in all?**

**This is Day Two.**

"Desmond, Desmond!" Rebecca was chirping excitedly before Desmond had time to adjust to being out of the animus. She didn't wait for an answer. Before Desmond could even sit up she began to talk again. "I think I've found a way to reduce the amount of hallucinations you have, it's simple, really, I can't believe I overlooked it…"

A sharp pain shot through Desmond's head and he was unable to hear the rest of what Rebecca was saying. His hand instinctively touched the large bump on the back of his skull. It stung like hell and he flinched when he touched it.

"What was that? You can get rid of the hallucinations?"

Rebecca was beaming down at him. "Not get rid of all the way, but I'm pretty sure this will make them less frequent and shorter."

"Really? What is it?"

"Caffeine! It'll stimulate you and keep you focused. I'm pretty sure we've got some espresso shots in the icebox, right Lucy?"

Lucy looked up from where she was sitting and shook her head. "I don't think we got any when we went grocery shopping."

"Damn…"

"I'll go get some." Shaun's offer was greeted with silence and odd looks.

"…What? You tell me to do everything else. I wouldn't mind getting out of this hole for a while."

"Take Desmond with you." It was more of a command than a request. Lucy looked serious.

"What? Ugh, fine. But we're not buying any useless stuff while we're there."

"Got it, let's go."

Shaun was surprised at Desmond's eagerness to leave. "I never said I was ready to go, I've got a lot to do!"

"Then I'll go by myself. I want these hallucinations gone as soon as possible." Desmond slid off the animus and walked to the exit of the Sanctuary. Lucy gave Shaun a look. He scowled and hurried to catch up to the other assassin.

* * *

"Whoa, I didn't know there could be so many kinds of coffee."

"Just pick one, they're all the same."

Desmond reached for the nearest brand of coffee.

"Not that one."

Desmond's hand stopped and he looked uncertainly at Shaun. "What?"

Shaun chuckled.

"Oh, nice one. Very mature." But Desmond cracked a smile and grabbed a different type. "Hey, hold this for a second…" Desmond handed the container of coffee to Shaun, dropping it before the other man even reached for it. Shaun caught it as it fell and was about to scold Desmond for his lack of attention when he saw that the younger man was climbing the store's shelf.

Desmond was no longer Desmond, he was Ezio Auditore. A man brushed past him - a thief. He held Ezio's coin pouch in his hand and quickly scampered up a building. Ezio followed, but didn't get more than three feet up the building when a guard grabbed hold of his armor and pulled him down.

"What the hell, Desmond?" Shaun grabbed the collar of the younger man's shirt and pulled him off of the shelf. Desmond fell to the floor in a sitting position and reached for his belt. "Are you insane? What do you think you're doing? Desmond?"

Ezio hit the ground and immediately reached for his sword. The guard didn't look mad, just confused. "That man - he robbed me." Ezio explained. "Please allow me to catch him."

"What in hell…? Why are you speaking Italian? Oh… oh, God. Not here! C'mon Desmond, snap out of it." Shaun lifted Desmond by his shoulders so that he was standing. The other man's eyes were out of focus and the expression he wore was not his. Shaun shook him roughly by the shoulders. When nothing happened he lifted his hand and slapped the entranced man across the face.

Ezio was used to the rude treatment from guards. They were all the same, do anything they didn't like and you would get shoved and yelled at. But the slap was surprising, and he reflexively struck at the man with his fist and at the same time prepared to run.

Shaun was amazed at how fast Desmond retaliated on him. He only just caught his fist before it struck him and held fast to stop the other assassin from escaping.

_I have to do something to surprise him so he'll wake up._

Shaun hesitated for a moment. He knew he had to do something fast before Desmond deteriorated further. He pushed the other man's fist back to his side and put his other hand on his shoulder.

Shaun leaned in and kissed Desmond.

Desmond's subconscious flickered back and forth from Ezio to himself. His head started to ache and he tried to raise his hand. Something stopped him and he opened his eyes. He was Desmond again, but he couldn't move. Shaun was kissing him, it was light and unsure, but it was a kiss. The other man's hand was wrapped around his, and his arm was around his shoulder, pulling the two closer together. Desmond was too surprised to react. He pulled away from Shaun, but the other assassin's arm was locked tight around his neck, and the two men ended up nose to nose with each other. Both men stared at each other, bewildered, for a long moment before Shaun pulled himself away from Desmond, half-handed-half-shoved the bag of coffee at him, and turned sharply so that he was no longer facing him. There was a minute of awkward silence.

"Don't EVER make me do that again, Miles."

Desmond raised an eyebrow mischievously. "You thought of it… what does that mean?"

Desmond walked back to the Sanctuary with Shaun's hand imprinted on his cheek.

* * *

That night Desmond found himself on top of the Abstergo building once again. The sky was the same bleak grey color, and the brown smog still hid the street from view. Desmond tried the door behind him and still couldn't get it open. He looked over the edge with the thought that he would scale the structure and investigate the warped city below. There seemed to be multiple hand holds, so Desmond lowered himself down and began to climb. But when he tried to grab the indents it was as if they were coated in oil, and he slipped right down the building.

Desmond awoke abruptly. He sat up, his arms out in front of him still clutching desperately at Abstergo. His arms dropped to his side and he slumped against the wall behind him, breathing heavily. The Sanctuary was completely black; Desmond guessed it was barely midnight. There was the sound of soft footsteps, and then the outline of a crouching figure appeared to his right. A candle was lit and placed on the ground. It created enough light to barely bring both people into focus.

"Shaun? Why are you up?" Desmond spoke in a low murmur.

"You think I sleep?"

"I knew you were a vampire."

Shaun snickered. "I heard you moving."

"I've probably been tossing and turning all night."

"Bad dreams?"

"Same one, a couple times now."

"Maybe it's trying to tell you something."

"You believe in that kind of thing?"

Shaun didn't answer, instead he moved so that he was sitting properly next to Desmond. "Tell me about your dream."

So Desmond leaned his head back against the wall and told Shaun about his dreams of being stuck on Abstergo. When he finished he expected the other man to have fallen asleep, but Shaun was still awake, and seemed to have been listening. The candlelight cast a white glare on his glasses, hiding his eyes and giving him an intellectual atmosphere.

"It makes sense, your time at Abstergo obviously made a big impact on your life."

"I don't get why I have to die every time, though."

Shaun shrugged and yawned.

"Err, you can go back to sleep whenever you want, you know."

"You want me to leave?"

Desmond didn't answer. Shaun sighed and returned to his sleeping bag.

**End of Day Two! Review please! I'd love to know what you think. Please point out any typo's or bad grammar you may find. :D **


	3. Day Three

**Welcome to the third chapter of Sogni d'oro! Your reading this tells me you might just think my little story is worth your time. ^_^  
**

**yaoi warning, Desmond x Shaun** - fluff fluff fluff(:

**Set in Brotherhood, started a couple of days after they arrive at the Sanctuary. **

**I'm assuming they stay there for a little more than a week before the game ends, and I'll be posting this in order of the days, so it may amount to 8 or 9 chapters in all?**

**This is Day Three.**

"_More yogurt?_" Desmond complained.

"It's very healthy. Here - put some raspberries in it."

"I can't believe that's all you bought."

"It's not _all _I bought."

"Pretty much…"

Rebecca walked over to the steps where Lucy and Desmond were sitting.

"_More _yogurt? Ugh… Lucyyyy…"

* * *

Even when Shaun closed his eyes he could see the white imprint of his computer on his eyelids. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, spinning in his chair to face the center of the room, where Lucy and Rebecca were working dutifully and Desmond was in the animus.

"I'm going to get something to eat."

"There's yogurt in the icebox."

"I need REAL food, Lucy. You can't expect me to work day after day living off of milk and bacteria."

"The rest of us do it."

"Men are different - we actually have taste buds. And mine are sick of yogurt."

"Then I'll tell Desmond it's lunch time and you _men _can go forage for some 'real' food."

"Fantastic."

"Hear that Desmond?" Lucy asked into her microphone.

"What was…. That… Lu . Cy?"

"Looks like you've hit a rough spot in the memory. Shaun, could you…?"

"Yes yes, of course. I'll fix it. It's not like you could just, oh, take him out of the animus. No no, that would be too easy."

* * *

"So what's for lunch?" Desmond stretched and savored the fresh air outside the Sanctuary.

"I was planning to go to Molly's again."

"Sounds good to me."

"How much coffee have you had today?"

"I had an espresso shot this morning."

"Order another one when we get to the diner."

"What are you, my mom?"

"No, I'm your friend. That one friend who doesn't want to be embarrassed when you try to climb something because you think you're a dead guy with a crossbow."

* * *

"Hmm, Lucy's right, maybe we _should_ take you out of the animus more." Shaun was looking at Desmond with an amused expression.

Desmond's hand automatically went to his face, wondering if anything had happened to it. "Wh- what? Why?"

"You're getting chubby." Shaun chuckled.

Desmond breathed a sigh of relief. "What am I supposed to do about that? When I do leave the animus, you guys tell me I shouldn't stay out too long. And then you wonder why I'm getting fat!" He looked at Shaun. His body was almost perfect - there was no sign that he had been cooped up in a cave for two weeks. His muscles were toned and Desmond bet that he had at least a six pack. "How are you staying so fit?"

"Lucy didn't tell you?"

"Are you guys away fighting Templars when I'm in the animus?"

"No, nothing like that. But Lucy and Rebecca build a sort of practicing room in the corridor that leads up to the Villa. We spar each other when there's spare time."

"And none of you felt the need to include me in this?"

"Lucy wants you in the animus as much as possible."

"I want a day off."

"What?"

"I want a day where I don't have to be living Ezio's life."

"It wouldn't be very exciting to watch the rest of us working. And besides, that would sacrifice a lot of progress. You'd have to be in double the next day. That could be dangerous."

"I don't mind. But I'd like to work on my core some."

"Good idea, I've never seen an assassin with such a big belly."

"Oh, shut up. You can barely even notice it. …Right?"

Shaun just smiled roguishly and continued walking.

* * *

"Welcome back, boys!" Molly's dimpled smile welcomed Shaun and Desmond back to her diner. "I'm glad you liked my cooking enough to come back!" The two men returned her smile and slid into a booth.

Desmond looked around uneasily. "It doesn't… feel right in here." He confided to Shaun when Molly was behind the kitchen's door and out of earshot. Shaun nodded. There was tension in the air that didn't make sense; they were the only two in the restaurant. "We should check on Molly." Desmond rose from his seat. "Desmond, wait, stay down!" Both men cringed as a shot rang through the air. "Molly!" Desmond shouted, and he rushed to the kitchen door.

"No!"

A second shot resounded through the diner. Desmond cried out in pain and fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder. Blood ran down his arm, his face contorted with pain. Shaun slid out of his seat and crawled towards his fallen friend. A third shot whizzed over their heads. "Shit! We have to get out, Desmond. On my count, run out the door and take a right." Desmond nodded. His wound still gushed blood, and his face was pale, but he adjusted so he was crouching on his heels, ready to sprint. "One, two…" A fourth shot was fired, shattering a window.

"Go!"

The two assassins sprinted to the front door of the restaurant. As they escaped a fifth shot was fired. It hit the bells above the door and they shattered into several shards of dangerous metal. Shaun felt one knick his ear, and could feel the trickle of blood moving down his neck. Desmond had slowed down slightly, and Shaun grabbed his arm to guide him. Desmond looked dangerously pale now, but luckily most of the blood was being absorbed by his shirt and jacket, so they weren't leaving a trail for their attackers to follow. Shaun could no longer hear their enemies' footsteps so he took a chance and led them both behind a building. A wall of dumpsters and a chainlinked fence blocked them from continuing forwards, and there were two solid stone buildings to their left and right. The only way out was back the way they came.

Shaun helped a shaking Desmond into a sitting position and gently moved his friend's hand off of his wounded shoulder. The injury didn't look good - in fact his shoulder was probably shattered. He could see the bullet buried an inch into Desmond's flesh. But Shaun knew Lucy could get it out, it was just the matter of making sure it healed correctly that could be a problem. With Desmond's hallucinations - although much less frequent since he started his diet of espresso shots - he could easily make the crushed bone even worse.

"Why are you being so quiet?" Desmond asked painfully. "How bad is it? Oh God, it's bad, isn't it? Oh God…"

"It's nothing that can't be fixed with time."

"We don't _have_ time. Shit… we don't have _any _time for this." Tears were rolling slowly down his cheeks, forced out by pain. Shaun carefully slid Desmond's bloody jacket off of him. Desmond cringed as the fabric brushed against his wound. "Sorry, sorry, I'm going to tie this around your shoulder so you can't move it, and it'll help stop the bleeding." Desmond bit his lip as Shaun tied the makeshift bandage tightly around his shoulder. Then Shaun hugged the younger man around his waist. It was a surprising gesture, but Desmond felt relaxed in the arms of the other man. He allowed himself to be sedated and soon found himself drifting off with his head resting on Shaun's shoulder.

* * *

"Lucy, Rebecca, he's waking up."

Desmond felt numb. His head was void of all thoughts, and his eyes were refusing to adjust to the bright room. He could barely make out the shape of Shaun sitting next to him, and two more blobs of color - he assumed they were Lucy and Rebecca - were hurrying over to him. "How's your shoulder feel, Desmond?" Lucy's voice asked him.

"My… shoulder?" Desmond tried to move his arm to feel the gunshot wound, but Shaun's hand stopped him. "You shouldn't touch it."

"You've got enough morphine in you to keep the pain dull for at least another hour. It wasn't hard to get the bullet out, but your bone's… pretty bad. It'll take a lot of time before you can use that arm again." It was Lucy's voice.

"Funny that Desmond managed to hurt the same shoulder as Ezio, eh?" Rebecca pointed out. Her words passed by Desmond without him hearing. His vision was blurring again, and he felt himself pass back into sleep.

**End of Day Three! Review please! I'd love to know what you think. Please point out any typo's or bad grammar you may find. :D This is as much as I've written so far, so tell me if you want any more. If I get positive reviews I'll keep posting!  
**


	4. Day Four

**Welcome to the fourth chapter of Sogni D'oro! :D I got some really nice reviews, they all made me super happy. ^_^ So thank you if you left a review, added this to your story watch, etc. You guys are the best!~  
**

**yaoi warning, Desmond x Shaun** - fluff fluff fluff(:

**Set in Brotherhood, started a couple of days after they arrive at the Sanctuary. **

**I'm assuming they stay there for a little more than a week before the game ends, and I'll be posting this in order of the days, so it may amount to 8 or 9 chapters in all?**

**This is Day Four.**

**OH. and on a side note~! If you click the little button on the top-right corner of the story and set it to 1/2 it looks way prettier. I don't know if you already knew that, so if you didn't, do it! x3 I just found that out and decided I would share. n_n;  
**

The sling on Desmond's arm felt heavy and sedated when he woke up. He was pleased to discover that his vision sharpened fairly quickly, and he had slept off most of his grogginess. Though he still felt slightly lightheaded the young man sat up. Whatever he had been lying on was padded and comfortable, it didn't feel like his sleeping bag. He realized he had been sleeping on the animus. His sleeping bag was in a heap on the floor next to him, it had probably been used as a blanket and fallen off during the night.

"Lucy? Rebecca?" The Sanctuary was oddly quiet. No sound of typing, no sound of Rebecca humming to her music. "Shaun?"

"Over here, mate."

Desmond swept his eyes in a 180 degree circle, but was unable to find the other man.

"Behind you."

Desmond tried to turn around, but his shoulder pierced with pain when he twisted. He must have made some kind of distressed noise, because Shaun was suddenly at his side. The older man offered him some coffee and painkillers, which he gladly accepted.

"Lucy and Rebecca are searching for the people who shot at us." Shaun filled him. "I don't know what happened to Molly."

Desmond grimaced at the news. Molly had been one of the friendliest faces he had seen in a while.

"Do you remember seeing anyone else at the diner either of the times we were there?"

Desmond tried to remember the first time they had visited Molly's. He remembered how Molly had been sitting at a booth when they had first come in. A waitress had come and taken their order. Had there been anyone else? He thought hard, trying to picture what the restaurant had looked like.

"Just us, Molly, and the waitress, right?"

"That's all I remember, too. Lucy thought that the waitress might have been Molly's daughter. She tried reaching her, but we haven't been able to."

"Is she a suspect?"

"The only one we have."

"She was so young… could she really have killed her own…?"

"I hope not. I really hope not."

* * *

The minutes dragged on as Desmond lay motionless on his temporary bed of the animus. Shaun told him he had been moved there because he had been "endlessly complaining that the floor was too hard, even when you were obviously fast asleep.".

Illusions tormented him endlessly. A ghostly figure would brush past him just when he was closest to sleep. Nonexistent horses whinnied loudly, interrupting his thoughts. Shaun would check on him occasionally, but was "not in the mood to talk, I'm busy informing the other teams of possible Templar activity." So Desmond lay, tired, repeating to himself "I am Desmond Miles, not Ezio Auditore. I am… Desmond Miles, not… Ezio… Audi..tore…"

For a moment Desmond thought he was back in the animus. He was standing on a rooftop outside the Villa Auditore. Cesare Borgia stood below him, with Mario dying at his feet. "I know you're there, Ezio!" His enemy shouted. Ezio could not contain the rage that coursed through his veins. He ran swiftly along the tops of buildings, determined to kill the man where he stood. Cesare pointed a gun at Mario's perishing figure. "Consider this a gift, from my family…" Multiple shots flew through the air. Ezio's shoulder was forced back by a bullet, sending him spinning off the building. "…To yours!"

Desmond lurched harshly off of the animus, and when Ezio hit the ground he landed hard on the floor and rolled over his injured shoulder. Crying out in pain and confusion he foolishly forced himself into a sitting position, sending more shockwaves of anguish through his arm. He could still see three men rushing towards him. Ezio recognized them as some of Mario's men, but one of the three stood out more than the others. Desmond struggled for control over his own subconscious. As the three men dragged Ezio away, he realized the well-defined man was not with the three, but had been a fourth man. Desmond could see Ezio's unconscious body disappear into the distance. Shaun was at his side now, waving a hand in front of Desmond's face and helping him into a more relaxed sitting position. It was then that Desmond noticed how tense he had been. When he allowed his muscles to loosen the pain in his shoulder dropped drastically into a dull throbbing. Shaun was saying something, but Desmond couldn't hear him. His ears were ringing terribly and the Villa was still fading from his mind.

"Hello? Hello? Desmond?" Shaun snapped several times in front of the younger man's nose. Desmond blinked until the hallucination left him. "Yeah.. I'm here."

"You're here _now_. Where were you before?"

"Outside… Cesare is there… he killed Mario…"

"Cesare _was _there. A thousand years ago."

"Y-Yeah. Ezio was shot."

"So were you, Desmond. Yesterday. Remember?"

Desmond shut his eyes tight. Ezio was still there, blocking his thoughts, replacing them.

"Desmond. Desmond!" Shaun crouched so he was on an even level with the younger man and touched him lightly on the shoulder. Desmond shook his past life from his head. "I'm sorry… that was really bad."

"You shouldn't apologize. You can't help it."

"Am I going insane?" Desmond sounded afraid. Shaun patted his friend's good shoulder reassuringly.

"Yes."

"What?"

"Just trying to cheer you up."

This won a smile out of Desmond. "Thanks a lot."

Shaun returned the smile. "How bad did you hurt your shoulder?"

"Not bad, I think I just pinched it."

"I need to take a look, no matter what." When Desmond responded to this with such a pitiful, betrayed, adorable expression, Shaun pulled him into a tight hug. "Stop being so cute."

Desmond's heart skipped a beat. He was unable to free himself from the other man's embrace, because that required both arms. But he didn't want to. Once again he felt safe in the arms of the older man. He had saved his life, and proved to be a great friend. Desmond held him in high respect, but hadn't he just suggested something more? He wondered if he was still having side-effects from the hallucination.

Shaun made a mental note that, although Desmond hadn't responded to his advance, he had blushed.

* * *

After Shaun had inspected Desmond's shoulder and came to the conclusion that he hadn't damaged it, Lucy and Rebecca returned to the Sanctuary. Desmond was scavenging the last of the food from the icebox, and Shaun looked unperturbed with the piles of empty yogurt cups that littered his desk.

"How the hell do you two manage to eat so much?"

Desmond was desperate for news, but he knew he was going to have to wait for Lucy to finish her rant.

"We're gone for twelve hours and you've DEVOURED every ounce of food… food that we bought only two days ago, mind you! I had assumed that was the last visit I would have to make to the grocery for at least another week. You're both so immature! And you, Desmond, you're supposed to be sleeping!"

Desmond embarrassedly returned the apple he was about to eat back into the cooler.

* * *

"We got off lucky this time." Lucy finally granted Desmond's wish and began to fill the two men in on what they had discovered about their attacker.

"It was a robbery, the kid who did it freaked when he realized there were witnesses, and started firing shots randomly. Molly's badly injured, she was shot twice in the stomach. But she survived."

Both Desmond and Shaun looked extremely relieved.

"I've run a background check on him already, this was his first felony. Seems he's had a lot of trouble at home, he's been stacking up complaints for bad behavior for a month now. "

"Well, that'll teach him a lesson. But that doesn't explain why I could hear him running after us." Shaun pointed out a flaw in Lucy's explanation.

"Most likely he was fleeing the scene."

Desmond felt immeasurably happier now that the threat of possible Templars was dismissed. Lucy and Shaun lightly argued with each other about who was going to pay for the 'wasted' food, and then it was unanimously agreed that everyone should try and get some sleep. Rebecca made the cherry announcement that since Desmond seemed to be only mildly bothered by his shoulder he would be allowed to use the animus for at least half a day tomorrow.

"You did end up getting your day off." Shaun reminded him as he walked outside to take first watch. Desmond sighed.

* * *

Desmond was becoming used to this dream. The Abstergo building towered above a city blocked by a heavy, brown fog. It was dark enough that the metal exterior of the building did not shine, yet light enough that it cast a shadow. The door that Desmond could not open stood cruelly like an unwinnable challenge in the center of the smooth rooftop. He paced around the edge of the building. He had found climbing the building to be futile, and the fog was not, although it appeared to be, dense enough to support his weight. The only option of escaping the building was that door. And so even though his last two attempts to open it failed, Desmond once again reached for the knob. His hand gripped it easily; it did not slide off as it had before. Feeling confident that he was close to success, Desmond swung open the door and took a step inside his old prison.

A blinding white brilliance engulfed him, and Desmond awoke to the lights in the Sanctuary being turned back on. It was morning. Desmond felt a terrible anger and exhaustion build up inside of him. He had been so close - he could picture his room, painted with the blood of Subject 16, being behind that door. But he had come so close, so terribly close to being a step closer to leaving that cursed place.

Would he never escape from Abstergo?

**End of Day Four! Review please! I'd love to know what you think. Please point out any typo's or bad grammar you may find. :D Another big thanks to the people who left really nice reviews and totally made my day~! :D  
**


	5. Day Five

**Welcome to Chapter Five~!  
**

**yaoi warning, Desmond x Shaun** - fluff fluff fluff(:

**Set in Brotherhood, blahblahblahblahblah**

**I'm assuming blahblahblahblahblahblah  
**

**This is Day Five. (:**

**...probably not my best. :/**

Everyone agreed that it was good to get back to their regular schedule. Although the group had to skip breakfast due to Desmond and Shaun being left alone with the food, Desmond was able to soothe Lucy's annoyance by promising to go to the grocery with her later that afternoon.

* * *

Time passed quickly for Desmond in the animus, it seemed like he had been in for only minutes when Rebecca reminded him that it was now two o'clock, and everyone was getting hungry. Lucy was waiting for him outside, and the two friends walked, or rather ran, to the store. Lucy kept a brisk pace that left Desmond breathless. She didn't seem interested in talking, and Desmond didn't have enough spare oxygen to use in a conversation anyways.

Lucy was just as fast in the grocery as she was on the way to it. She flitted from shelf to shelf, the basket she carried filled up fast, Desmond couldn't even tell what she was buying. When she had left to go shopping with Rebecca they had been gone nearly two hours. At this rate they would be back in the Sanctuary before the hour was over.

"Hey." Desmond stopped Lucy by placing his hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" The look she gave him clearly told him she was exhausted. He could see the bags under her eyes, no matter that she had tried to hide them with makeup.

"Yes, Desmond, something is wrong. We are_ way_ behind schedule, and if you're in no condition to fight if we're found by Vidic again... and we're still not done yet…" Lucy's voice faded and she dropped her eyes from Desmond's face. "I know it's not your fault, but… I can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen." Her words were a soft whisper. After a moment of silence between them Lucy regained her previous hurried posture and quickly finished filling her shopping basket. They checked out and returned to the Sanctuary at a slightly relaxed pace, but as Desmond had expected, the entire trip had taken less than an hour. When they arrived back 'home' the rest of the team gladly embraced the new abundance of food.

* * *

Desmond had the rest of the day off. It was only four, which gave him plenty of free time. He considered checking out the training room Shaun had mentioned, but that reminded him of his unusable arm and dented his confidence. So he roamed the room for a bit, admiring the assassin statues and letting his mind wander. After a while though, he could feel his consciousness slipping and the edges of his vision blurring. He needed to keep his mind occupied, unless he wanted to slip into another dangerous hallucination.

He had begun to slowly wean himself off of the coffee, he hated the bitter taste, and he didn't like relying so heavily on a substance. The hallucinations were creeping back, but he was determined to fight them off himself.

So Desmond casually went to see what his buddy Shaun was up to. He stood behind his friend's desk nonchalantly, but there was no fooling Shaun. The other assassin looked up from his computer screen only briefly to speak to Desmond.

"You do know you have your own computer, right?"

Desmond had forgotten, but what could he do on a computer? "I'd rather talk to you."

"That's sweet, but I'm very busy."

The younger man couldn't hide his annoyance. "You're _always _busy.

"It comes with the job. I'm sure that if you tried, you could find several things to keep you entertained, _over there_." Shaun looked at the empty computer on the other side of the room, then back at Desmond. Desmond sighed.

"Fine."

Desmond sat at his desk and tapped the keys on the keyboard slowly, looking very bored. What could he do? What he craved was attention, someone to talk to. Then he remembered - email. Feeling a burst of happiness Desmond quickly logged onto his account. Who to send a message to? Lucy needed space, and he wasn't sure he wanted to strike up a conversation with Rebecca. She probably had enough on her plate.

Why not just bother Shaun? Desmond typed his address into the 'receiver' box.

DESMOND MILES: (4:49p.m.) I'm bored.

DESMOND MILES: (4:51p.m.) Shaun?

DESMOND MILES: (4:52p.m.) Shaaaauun?

DESMOND MILES: (4:53p.m.) Talk to me! I miss you. :(

SHAUN HASTINGS: (4:55p.m.) That's very cute. Leave me alone.

DESMOND MILES: (4:56p.m.) :( But I have something to tell you.

SHAUN HASTINGS: (5:00p.m.) What?

DESMOND MILES: (5:02p.m.) You have to come over here and find out.

SHAUN HASTINGS: (5:02p.m.) No.

DESMOND MILES: (5:05p.m.) Please?

DESMOND MILES: (5:10p.m.) Shaauuunn?

Desmond looked over at the other man's desk. Shaun had his head in his hands. He stared at him for a bit, but his friend never moved. Desmond added Lucy and Rebecca to the e-mail receiver list.

DESMOND MILES: (5:17p.m.) Guys, I think Shaun is dead.

REBECCA CRANE: (5:18p.m.) lol!

LUCY STILLMAN: (5:20p.m.) Haha, are you bothering him, Desmond? :)

DESMOND MILES: (5:21p.m.) No way! He started it.

REBECCA CRANE: (5:22p.m.) Shaun, let Desmond focus on his work! xD

SHAUN HASTINGS: (5:22p.m.) I'm deleting my account.

* * *

Desmond's shoulder was feeling surprisingly fine. He had known it was hurting less than it was supposed to, but he figured that was due to all the painkillers he was taking. But today he had skipped the pills, and it felt perfectly normal. Even though it was secured tightly, Desmond could still roll his shoulder, and it wasn't painful at all. He approached Lucy about this.

"Hey, Lucy."

Lucy smiled. "Hello, Desmond. How's your shoulder?"

"I think it's fine, actually."

"Good, I'm glad it's not troubling you."

"No, I mean, I think it's fixed."

Lucy looked at him sadly. "I know how much you want that, but for it to be well so soon is impossible. It was shattered."

"Just take a look, okay? I really think it's fine."

Lucy sighed, but undid the bandages around his upper arm. She inspected his shoulder thoroughly. Her expression changed from pity, to confusion, to utter bewilderment. Desmonds' shoulder, as he had thought, was completely healed.

"That's… impossible."

Desmond moved his shoulder with satisfaction. Aside from being sore, it was as good as new.

* * *

Excited to put his miraculously healed shoulder to the test, Desmond decided it was time to visit the makeshift training room. It was in a corridor, which made it hard to fight without bumping into a wall, but it was doable. Three dummies made of sticks and hay, closing resembling scarecrows, were facing him from the long end of the hallway. Desmond moved the two on the sides so that he could focus on the one in the center. He doled continuous punches with his bad arm, slowly at first to get used to the feeling again, and soon he was throwing powerful punches with ease. Feeling his confidence quickly returning, he used his hidden blade to slice the straw head clear off the mannequin. Behind him someone clapped. He turned and saw Shaun walking towards him.

"Full of surprises, aren't you? How you managed to completely heal a ruined shoulder in three days is beyond me. Though I've reason to believe the bleeding effect _could _be involved, it's very unlikely it could heal such a complex injury so fast."

"Guess I owe Ezio one."

Shaun raised an eyebrow. "I don't like to admit it, but only a miracle could have mended that shoulder so fast." He clapped his hand on Desmond's shoulder. "Guess you must have some supernatural help on your side." Desmond pulled his friend into a hug. Then, he abruptly spun him around, so that one of his arms was secured around the older man's waist and the other, hidden blade out, was pressed against his neck.

"So, Shaun, about me getting fat…"

"Wh-what? I never said that."

Desmond smirked and kissed the older man's neck. He put more pressure on the blade, forcing the other man's head to tilt upwards.

"O-okay! I take it back, you're the perfect size. Absolutely perfect!" Desmond could see Shaun's ears turning red, which meant his face was blushing the same color. He retracted the blade and gently used his hand to turn the other man's face to the side. "That's wasn't so hard, was it?" He kissed the older man before sliding his arm out from around his waist. But even when he was freed Shaun stayed pressed again Desmond. He kissed him back, lightly at first, and then with more force. He turned so he could face the younger man properly, and locked his arms around his neck. Desmond took this as an invitation to go a bit further. He wrapped his arms around the older man's waist and pulled him closer.

Shaun melted in Desmond's arms as the younger man deepened the kiss, exploring the older man's mouth with his tongue. The younger assassin broke the kiss, eyes gleaming with lust. He grinned when he saw what a cute shade of pink Shaun had turned. They would have continued further, but Desmond heard footsteps round the corner. He released Shaun and turned around. Rebecca stepped into the corridor raised a hand in greeting to them both.

"Shaun, it's your turn to take watch." Shaun nodded and hurried out of the room, keeping his head down.

Rebecca turned her attention to Desmond. She looked like she was about to tell him something, but then stopped and studied him for a moment.

"Hey, why's your face all red?"

Desmond stumbled for something to say. "Been training." He mumbled before he too quickly strode out of the hallway.

* * *

Desmond didn't hesitate to open the door and step into Abstergo. He told himself he wasn't afraid of what he would see. But what lay behind the door didn't trigger any emotions. He was in an enormous room - too big to be in the actual Abstergo. Hazed glass walls formed a perimeter around the room. Desmond placed his hand on one. It was sturdy, and didn't move if he put pressure on it. Then, a voice calling his name caught his attention. He turned to see Lucy standing opposite of him. She motioned for him to follow and slipped behind one of the walls. Desmond ran after her. When he stepped into it, he realized the glass walls were the walls of a maze.

Lucy ran still ahead of him and disappeared around a corner. He hurried to catch up to her, but he slowed when he realized just what the maze was made of. Animus in glass rooms formed the walls and corners. Each the same as the next, perfectly symmetrical. As he followed Lucy he realized the room was must have been larger than it had at first seemed, because the maze was enormous and complex. Just as he was thinking how easy it would be to be lost forever in it, Lucy was suddenly gone. She had turned another corner, and when Desmond turned it she was nowhere to be seen. It was a straight walkway with only one turn at the end, there was no way she could have stepped out of his view.

Desmond wished he had paid more attention to the route they had taken to get this far.

Where was he? The animus that surrounded him reminded him were identical to the one Vidic had forced him to use. He was filled with an acute sense of dread, and when he rounded another corner he saw why.

One of the animus was different than the others. At first it looked to be covered by a dark shadow, but as Desmond stepped closer he saw that the 'shadow' was dripping onto the floor, surrounding the animus in a pool of thick blood. The same symbols that Subject 16 had decorated his old prison's walls with were etched into the glass. Desmond walked into the room, the wall dissolved when he passed through it, putting up no resistance. The room was filled with the stench of blood, clouding his senses and sending him into a terrible coughing fit. His vision blurred red, and someone called his name as he collapsed onto the floor.

**End of Day Five! Review please! I'd love to know what you think. Please point out any typo's or bad grammar you may find. :D I'm almost finished with days six and seven, so it should be long before I post them here.  
**


	6. Day Six

**Day Six.**

"Good morning!" Lucy called cheerfully to Desmond as he walked past her, sleep still heavy in his eyes. There was something else about his eyes, too. There was an unreadable, dangerous presence in them.

"Hey, Desmond, aren't you going to eat first?" Lucy stopped him by lightly touching his arm. "It's no good to go in the animus without being ready…"

Desmond raised his head so he could look at her, but he looked passed her as he spoke, not making eye contact. "I don't have time to eat." The emotion in Desmond's eyes was rage, a fury that was not his. His voice was strict and commanding. He went to the animus and motioned for Rebecca to start it. Rebecca gave Lucy an uncertain look, waiting for her to tell her what to do. Lucy looked just as confused as she did, but nodded for her to go ahead and listen to Desmond.

* * *

Desmond was in the animus all day. Rebecca tried talking him into eating lunch, but he yelled at her and told her he needed to concentrate. Finally, Lucy's patience snapped and she pushed Rebecca away from her computer and forced the animus to stop. Desmond began to argue immediately, but Lucy grabbed his arm and forced him to stand and face her.

"Your behavior is unacceptable, Desmond. You don't have the authority to treat us like your pets." She kept her voice steady, but everyone in the room could feel the tension between the two building. Shaun and Rebecca kept their heads down, trying to avoid being targeted by either one of the two's wrath.

"You're wasting time, taking me out - we're so close! Can't you feel it?" Ezio's emotions bombarded Desmond. He knew he was close to Cesare. The Apple had shown him, he knew where he would be, he needed to go, he needed to kill him. Terrible hate invaded him; impatience and need controlled what he did. He knew it wasn't himself feeling this, but it was impossible to fight the emotions off. He needed some time to think, but he didn't want to_ waste_ time. He needed to be rationalized with, but Lucy wasn't in the mood. She began to yell at him. He yelled back. Desmond began to get a headache. He held a hand up, begging her to stop. She paused her lecture for a moment, but it was clear she was still angry. Rebecca slid into the space in-between them.

"Stop it! I know you're both tired, but that's no reason to scream at each other. Desmond, go outside and get some fresh air. Lucy, it's our turn to make dinner."

Rebecca's interruption had successfully ended the fight. Although they weren't on the best of terms yet, Both Desmond and Lucy felt lighter getting after getting everything off of their chests. The tension in the room faded, and both assassins walked off in parallel directions.

* * *

The cool autumn air felt wonderful on Desmond's face. He had found himself a perch on top of the Villa, in a place coated in shadows. The sun was low in the sky, turning the horizon bright shades of orange and pink. Desmond felt peace return to him as he watched the sunset. His thoughts were cleared, and the anger had left him. His stomach made a rather loud noise, reminding him that he hadn't eaten yet today. An apple rolled towards him. Desmond picked it up and looked to where it had come from. Shaun was walking towards him, a bit unsteady on the roof.

"You couldn't have chosen a more inconvenient place to -oomph!" Shaun stumbled over a patch of loose shingles. "..hide."

Desmond grinned. "That's right - I'd forgotten you can't climb anything."

"I can climb just fine, I just don't like to."

"I bet it took you fifteen minutes to get up here."

"Ten."

Desmond laughed. "I'll have to teach you some time."

"You know what would be faster? Convincing Lucy to let me use the animus."

"You came all the way here just so I could hear your sales pitch?"

"No, no. It's a fantastic idea, I'm sure I've got a very interesting ancestor in -"

"Yeah yeah, I'm sure. But I'm pretty sure I won't be able to ask Lucy anything for a while."

"What was that about, anyway? Are we really that close to the Apple?" Shaun didn't hide his excitement well.

"Yeah, we are… We're close to Cesare, too."

"You can't let Ezio's feelings overpower you, Desmond. Everything will play out like it did before. You don't care about Cesare, he's just another obstacle to overcome."

Desmond was having a hard time convincing himself of that. Ezio was always there in the back of his mind, more so than Altair had ever been. Sometimes it was hard to push him away. Shaun tried his best to understand his friend's troubles. He gave Desmond an encouraging, awkward pat on the back. Desmond responded by pulling the older man into a tight hug. He ended up pulling them both down so that they were laying on the roof of the Villa, the younger man half on top of Shaun.

"You're so nice." He spoke into the other man's shoulder, mumbling his words. Shaun felt himself blushing and tried to free himself from Desmond's embrace. Desmond nibbled on his ear playfully.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"Mm?" The younger man stopped and rested his head on Shaun's shoulder. He nuzzled the older man's neck affectionately. He had successfully caused Shaun to turn completely red. The other man scowled, trying to discourage Desmond. "You're acting very inappropriately, Desmon-" He was stopped with a kiss.

"Inappropriately?" Desmond mumbled, his mouth still on Shaun's. "I could show you inappropriate…"

* * *

It was late when Desmond and Shaun returned to the Sanctuary. Their hair and clothes were disheveled - a fact that Lucy wasn't ignorant to when they walked passed her. She gave the two men an odd look and stepped into their path.

"Feeling better, Desmond?" Her tone was accusing.

Desmond had completely forgotten that tonight was Lucy's night to be on watch. He didn't like being on bad terms with her, but it was still hard to apologize. "Yeah, lots. I'm, uh, sorry about today." He said it sincerely, and, like always, Lucy had a hard time staying mad at him.

"It's alright, I overreacted too." The two assassins exchanged smiles. "You two have been gone for a while…" Lucy tried to ease her way into hostile territory. The two men were finally getting on well, yes, but both she and Rebecca felt slightly uneasy about their friendship.

"Indeed we have, and I am very tired, so goodnight." Shaun gave an exaggerated yawn and walked past Lucy into the sanctuary. Desmond shrugged and followed after him. Lucy stood there in shock for a moment before slowly continuing her patrol.

* * *

Rebecca was asleep like a rock in her sleeping bag. Soft music slipped out of her headphones, giving the sanctuary an eerie soundtrack. Desmond didn't know she listened to classical.

The young assassin had trouble falling asleep. He knew it was late, but once he was free of distractions the feeling of anxiety came back to him. He just wanted it to be over, for them to find the Apple and get the advantage they needed. Desmond fell asleep with the possible locations of the Piece of Eden swimming through his thoughts.

* * *

The dream didn't feel like a dream any more. It felt like the last two months of his life were being compressed together into some kind of twisted reality, where his only mission was to get a little bit further every night. His anxiety was seeping into his subconscious as Desmond wandered hopelessly through the glass maze.

He was hearing footsteps. Were they Lucy? Should he try and find her? Or were they an enemy, and should he keep his distance? Perhaps it was only another lost soul. Did he need help to get out? Desmond was so confused. He tried to focus on finding the exit, but everything looked the same. The footsteps increased in volume and speed. He felt like a rat in a cage, placed in a cruel environment to undergo inhumane tests. And then the source of the footsteps revealed itself.

Vidic, in a blood-stained lab coat, rounded the corner in front of Desmond. In his right hand he held a gun, and in his left a meat cleaver, rusted and grotesque. The assassin didn't know which one he feared more.

Vidic slowed his pace so that he was simply ambling towards Desmond. He raised the gun and fired a shot. Time seemed to slow, the assassin could see the bullet barely miss him. Or had he dodged it? The sound of exploding glass made Desmond realize he was running again. He forced himself not to look behind him as he sprinted away from the deranged scientist. Multiple shots destroyed the walls on either side of the assassin. Jagged shards of glass flew towards him. Desmond cried out in pain as they impaled themselves in his arms, which he had raised to protect his face. The entire scene flickered, as if he had blinked, and then he saw the exit. The double doors stood just at the end of one more hallway. The assassin put on a burst of speed. He could see the cleaver soaring through the air at him in the reflection of the doors. He hurled himself against them and tumbled out of the building.

**I'm sorry for saying "parts six and seven should be up soon".**

**So I'm now going to say; "I thought I put parts six and seven up like a week ago but I guess I didn't".**

**My bad. x]**

**Parts six and seven should be up NOW, because I've made sure to upload them together. Enjoy! As always, please point out any terrible mistakes you may find.  
**


	7. Day Seven

**Day Seven**

"It's been so long since you've screamed in your sleep…"

It took Desmond a moment to fully wake up. Lucy spoke again.

"We had all hoped that maybe the nightmares had gone away."

Desmond shook his head and stood up. He was overcome by a sudden extreme dizziness, and would have collapsed onto the floor had Lucy not been there to catch him.

"I didn't eat at all yesterday!" he complained, using that as both an excuse for his sudden weakness and to lighten the mood.

* * *

Rebecca joined Desmond on the steps where he ate his breakfast. Desmond was wary of a lecture, but instead the two just chatted lightly. Rebecca asked him how the animus was working, and how much trouble the translation software was giving him. When he assured her that everything was working perfectly the female assassin seemed satisfied and left him to finish his meal by himself.

Now that Desmond's blood sugar was beginning to stabilize he felt the fatigue that had clouded around him lessen. Though he still felt under the weather, and wondered if he might have caught something. The assassin headed to the training hall, certain that all he needed was to sweat a little.

* * *

The assassin's rhythmically thrown punches helped to clear his mind. He felt better with every hit, and every drop of sweat washed away his drowsiness.

Desmond stopped training when he found himself short of breath. He felt much better, and enjoyed seeing that his brief working out had already begun to tone his body again. The straw dummies had not taken the beating well. Their previously human shaped bodies were lumpy and lopsided, and much of the hay had fallen onto the stone floor. Desmond busied himself repairing the two. As he stooped to grab a handful of straw he noticed the body of the third, decapitated dummy. He hoisted it back up to standing position. As he pulled it back into place, a familiar blue tint covered the room. It came suddenly, a common characteristic of a short hallucination.

The only change in the room was the presence of a new person. The straw mannequins were still there, but now the center one had been overshadowed by the almost solid apparition of a muscular man.

Desmond took a step backwards and immediately recognized the man to be Ezio. He spoke. It was Italian, but Desmond understood.

"You're close." The Italian assassin spoke directly to him, as if he could actually see the modern day assassin.

The illusion faded. Desmond wanted Ezio to tell him more, but he was gone. The young man shrugged it off as something of little significance. He had been stressing over time, he wanted to know he was close. He decided it was more of a manifestation of his desires, not an actual message from the past.

* * *

Shaun knew the feeling of someone looking over his shoulder. It was getting increasingly common for him to be interrupted ever since Desmond arrived. He expected to be asked a generic question any moment now.

"You ever feel… untethered?"

Desmond's question caught Shaun off guard. He swiveled in his chair to face the other man, who had pulled up a chair of his own and had tipped back in it, giving the impression that he was either thinking hard, or studying the ceiling.

"You don't look particularly untethered."

"No, I feel better now."

The younger man had stumped Shaun.

"Care to elaborate?"

Desmond paused moment to collect his thoughts before speaking .

"For a while now it's like I've had no control over myself. The dreams don't help, they've always left me feeling lost and frustrated. I feel untethered. Like I could snap, or disappear, any second. I've been fighting to stay in the present. I know I'm turning out a lot like Sixteen, I've seen everyone's worried looks and I'm sick of your fake encouragement."

He stopped to take a breath.

"But today, I've been in complete control. I haven't felt this good in a while. And I just want to let you know that I'm not going to give up. It feels like it's going to get better. Or maybe I'm wrong, and it's just going to get a hell of a lot worse. But I won't end up like Sixteen."

Desmond ended here, and, feeling slightly embarrassed that he spilled so many of his private thoughts, got up and walked to where the girls were eating a lunch of peanut butter sandwiches.

Shaun had to agree that Desmond did look more confident. He was focused, and obviously more at ease, and Shaun found this new demeanor highly distracting. When he joined the rest of the group for lunch he repeatedly found his gaze going back to Desmond. Whenever the younger assassin would catch him staring he would flash a brilliant, flirtatious smile in his direction. Another fact that Lucy made sure to remember.

* * *

"Hey, Lucy, I'm going out for a walk."

"Alright, Desmond. Don't be much longer than ten minutes."

"I know."

"Hey, Desmond, while you're at it," Shaun called as the other man approached the exit, "Do us all a favor and take a shower!"

Desmond surprised him by complying. "You know what, that's a really good idea. Mind if I stop by town, Lucy?"

"Go ahead."

"Really? By myself?" Desmond hadn't expected her to actually let him.

"Don't do anything -"

"Yes!" Desmond exclaimed. "Thank God, a little time alone."

"Desmond, if you're not back in an hour -"

"Bye!"

Lucy could only watch as the male assassin hurried happily out of the Sanctuary.

Shaun turned to look at the two women, as if waiting for something.

"What? You really mean that you're letting him go alone? You - you're really letting him go alone. Are you stupid?"

"He'll be fine. Desmond can take care of himself." Lucy's logic was accepted by her and Rebecca, but Shaun had seen what could happen when Desmond fell prey to a hallucination. He didn't argue, though. He knew Desmond had been itching to escape for a while.

* * *

Everyone noticed the unusual silence that fell over the group after Desmond left. He had been the main conversation starter, with his stream of questions and numerous observations. Some of the members had found these annoying, but once they were gone they realized how vital they had been to both keeping moral and mood up.

Rebecca squirmed in her seat. With no one in the animus she had little to do. She could try and patch the translation software, but she didn't feel like it. That was unusual. Usually the female assassin took pride in working towards the animuses perfection, but something was tugging at the back of her mind.

Lucy had recently told her privately about her growing 'concerns' regarding their male team members. At the time Rebecca had assumed it was because Lucy had a thing for Desmond - which she probably did -and was slightly jealous that he now had another man to relate to. But she couldn't disagree with her friend either. Although she would have preferred approaching Desmond about these assumptions, this would probably the only time to ask either one of the guys about it without the other one within earshot.

"Hey, Shaun, you busy?"

"Yes."

"Perfect, I have something to ask you."

Shaun groaned.

"What's Desmond like?"

"What?" Shaun looked surprised, almost angry.

"Well, I've only talked to him a few times. You two seem to get along alright, so you probably know more about him than I do."

"He's loud, curious, and very persistent. Terribly persistent. That's all."

"You know that's not all, Shaun." Lucy had joined the conversation. "Desmond's a great guy. He always tries to do the right thing."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. But all the great stuff about him sort of wears off when you're with him a lot."

"Oh, give it up. You guys are obviously friends," said Lucy with exaggerated exasperation.

"But just _how _friendly?" Rebecca teased.

"I don't think that's any of your business."

"Oh! Getting defensive already? This must be good." Rebecca laughed.

Lucy, who had started with a warm, friendly tone, turned serious. "It'd better not be."

Rebecca was troubled by her friend's sudden change of attitude. "You know what, Shaun's right, it really isn't any of our business."

"No. Shaun, go on. Answer Rebecca's question."

"Whoa, Lucy! It's not a big deal!"

"Shaun, tell me. Right now."

"Lucy, let it go, I was just joking-"

"Shaun, tell me!" Lucy's voice rose.

"What? What do you want to know?" Shaun said, annoyed. "Why don't I just spill out my personal life to you? Would that make you happy?"

Lucy stood up abruptly from her chair. "Shaun Hastings, if you don't -"

"Hey, guys… what's up?" Desmond stood at the entrance to the Sanctuary, a damp towel hung around his neck. Lucy stopped yelling, and Rebecca looked extremely relieved, as did Shaun. But then Lucy, her need for answers not yet satisfied, turned her attention to the younger man. "Good, Desmond, you won't disappoint me, right?" She asked in a honey sweet voice with a sharp, demanding edge.

"Enough!" Shaun shouted. He strode towards Desmond, grabbed the younger man, and kissed him roughly, practically pressing him against the stone wall.

"I hope that gives you your answers." He directed the comment to Lucy, but he didn't turn to face her. He placed another, sweeter kiss on Desmond's lips before returning to his desk.

Lucy's expression was unreadable, and then she stormed out of the chamber, shoving Desmond aside to get to the exit.

Desmond cast an alarmed look at the other assassins. Rebecca sighed. "This whole thing is completely my fault."

"I'm sure it's not." Desmond assured her. "But I'd like it if someone told me what the hell's going on." Desmond tossed his towel off to one side, not caring where it landed.

"Lucy's being a bitch." Shaun answered bluntly.

"It's not her fault she's taking Desmond's sexuality a little hard." Rebecca's speech stumbled like she wasn't so sure about it either.

"What… what?"

"God Desmond, you haven't noticed? It's pretty obvious that Lucy totally has a … shall we call it a 'thing' for you?"

"I thought that was just because I'm unusually handsome."

Rebecca laughed, and Shaun put his head in his hands in defeat.

"I'll go talk to her, you two had better… Well, maybe if you try to you can sleep through all the yelling."

Desmond gave Rebecca an encouraging smile. "Thanks, tell her I'm sorry, alright? For being…"

"Completely oblivious." Shaun ended for him.

"Yeah, mostly for that."

* * *

For the first time all week, Desmond was blessed with a deep, dreamless sleep.

**I don't think I'll actually be writing a part eight. All that needs to be written is pretty much the ending of the game all over again. Don't be on the lookout for anything else, though. If I feel like I could spice up the ending a bit, I will. This is a fine ending nonetheless. A happy ending. (: So, the story comes to an end. I hope you all enjoyed~**

**I'm thinking about writing some oneshots about Lucy's time at Abstergo next, so if you're interested, keep an eye on your subscriptions box! Something new from me may pop up. **

**Thank you all so much for the very nice reviews! Have a wonderful day! See you in a new story, hopefully. :D  
**


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